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United States Patent |
5,607,098
|
Kusakabe
,   et al.
|
March 4, 1997
|
Tubular shape finishing apparatus for an electro-resistance-welded pipe
Abstract
A tubular shape finishing apparatus in a steel pipe manufacturing system
which molds band steel in a tubular shape while passing through a
plurality of sets of forming roll stands and welds the butt portion by a
seam welding unit, the tubular shape finishing apparatus welding the pipe
by a seam welding unit, cutting off padding by a bead cutter, finishing
and shaping the same into a shape of a desired diameter, and to be about
an complete round, and comprising one or two of 3-roll forcible drive type
stand or 3 or more roll forcible drive type stands disposed in series.
Inventors:
|
Kusakabe; Ryoji (Kobe, JP);
Urata; Tatsuaki (Kobe, JP)
|
Assignee:
|
Kusakabe Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd. (Hyogo-ken, JP)
|
Appl. No.:
|
582631 |
Filed:
|
January 4, 1996 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S. Class: |
228/17; 228/17.5 |
Intern'l Class: |
B23K 031/02; B23K 101/06 |
Field of Search: |
228/17,17.5
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3707257 | Dec., 1972 | Wogerbauer et al.
| |
4339938 | Jul., 1982 | Nakagawa et al.
| |
4614293 | Sep., 1986 | Pazzaglia et al. | 228/17.
|
4709845 | Dec., 1987 | Akiyama et al.
| |
4865243 | Sep., 1989 | Meier | 228/17.
|
Foreign Patent Documents |
3-294008 | Dec., 1991 | JP.
| |
5-212440 | Aug., 1993 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Ramsey; Kenneth J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/210,897, filed Mar. 17, 1994, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A tubular shape finishing apparatus in a steel pipe manufacturing system
for forming an electro-resistance-welded steel pipe from band steel,
comprising:
a plurality of forming roll stands which receive and transfer said band
steel, said forming roll stands forcing said band steel to form a steel
pipe while transferring said band steel thereon;
a seam welding unit for welding edges of said band steel formed into said
steel pipe by said forming roll stands so as to form a seam on said steel
pipe;
a cutter for removing padding from a portion of said steel pipe welded by
said seam welding unit; and
a finishing unit for finishing said steel pipe into a desired size, said
finishing unit comprising a forcible drive type stand having four rollers
driven by an external force generated by a drive motor such that said
rollers forcibly transfer and finish said steel pipe at the same time,
said forcible drive type stand including a pair of input shafts which are
connected to said drive motor, each of said input shafts being provided
with bevel gears which couple with two of said four rollers.
2. A tubular shape finishing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said
finishing unit further includes an adjusting mechanism for adjusting an
inner diameter formed by said four rollers.
3. A tubular shape finishing apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said
adjusting mechanism is formed of a set of adjusting screw bolts each of
which is rotationally controlled and a set of adjusting blocks each of
which corresponds to said adjusting screw bolt.
4. A tubular shape finishing apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said
set of adjusting screw bolts is formed of four adjusting screws.
5. A tubular shape finishing apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said
set of adjusting blocks is formed of four adjusting blocks.
6. A tubular shape finishing apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein each
of said adjusting screw bolts and each of said adjusting blocks is coupled
with each other through a wedge mechanism.
7. A tubular shape finishing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said
pair of input shaft is an upper shaft and a lower shaft, and said drive
motor is formed of an upper shaft driving motor connected to said upper
shaft and a lower shaft driving motor connected to said lower shaft.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a tubular shape finishing apparatus for
gradually molding band steel, that is, a strip of steel, in a tubular form
by use of a plurality of forming roll stands, and then welding the seam
portion by a seam welder to constitute an electro-resistance-welded pipe,
and finishing the continuously manufactured electro-resistance-welded pipe
to be about complete round.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, a 3-roll drive type pipe molding apparatus used as a
reducer for urging to mold the electro-resistance-welded pipe smaller in
diameter, is proposed and well-known by the same applicant, as disclosed
in, for example, the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. Hei 3-294008.
Also, a 4-roll molding apparatus, in which an upper roll and a lower roll
only are driven and a left roll and a right roll are idling, is of
well-known technique and disclosed in, for example, the Japanese Patent
Laid-Open Gazette No. Hei 5-212440.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The conventional 3-roll forcible drive type stand or a 4-roll forcible
drive type stand has been used as a reducer for urging and reducing a
diameter thereof.
In a usual steel-pipe. manufacturing apparatus, the
electro-resistance-welded tube manufactured by passing through a
forming-welding unit is finished to be of a desired pipe diameter and in
complete round by a tubular shape finishing apparatus at the last stage,
in which two upper and lower roll forcible drive type stand allows the
pipe to gradually pass through 6 to 8 stands.
However, it is troublesome for step changing that such large number of
2-roll forcible drive type stands are disposed.
In the present invention, a roll stand for forcibly driving, at constant
speed, 3 or more rolls such as 3-roll forcible drive type stand or a
4-roll forcible drive type stand is disposed only by one or two, thereby
constituting the tubular shape finishing apparatus for the
electro-resistance-welded pipe.
The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more
fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read
in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view showing an entire layout of a steel pipe manufacturing
apparatus,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a forming-welding unit FW, a cooling unit
L, and part of a tubular shape finishing apparatus A in the steel pipe
manufacturing system,
FIG. 3 is a sectional front view of a 3-roll forcible drive type stand,
FIG. 4 is a front view of a 4-roll forcible drive type stand,
FIG. 5 is a sectional front view of the same, and
FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a roll portion of the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In FIG. 1, a whole construction of a steel pipe manufacturing system will
be described, in which a coil on which a strip is wound is rotatably
supported to a mother coil X, and one end thereof is drawn out to be
corrected of bending at the utmost end by a coil end correction device U.
The coil end correction device U corrects the utmost end of the strip of
steel in order that, when the next coil end cut and weld device T welds
the rear end of the strip of the former coil and the front end of the
strip of the following coil so as to produce one continuous strip, the
ends to be welded are prevented from causing misalignment therebetween.
In the manufacturing process of the steel pipe, since the large number of
steel pipes are automatically and continuously manufactured, the steel
tube manufacturing system cannot be stopped at a break of the coil.
In order to prevent a stop of the steel pipe manufacturing system at the
break of the coil, the coil end cut and weld device T welds the rear end
of the former coil with the front end of the following one. A strip
accumulator S for storing a predetermined amount of coil is provided so
that, the strip of the next coil is not pulled by that of the formed coil
full of its allowable length during the welding work. The strip
accumulator S is provided with a mechanism for storing therein an amount
of strip for a time enough to weld the strips by the coil end cut and weld
device T.
The strip having come out from the strip accumulator S passes a pass line 1
to be supplied to the forming welding unit FW, in which the strip is
formed into a tubular shape while passing a plurality of stands, for
example, six to eight forming roll stands 30, and welded by a seam welding
unit 2. Furthermore, a bend cutter 31 cuts off padding at the welded
portion and a pull-out stand 32 transports the strip to a cooling unit L.
The electro-resistance-welded pipe cooled by the cooling unit L is fed to a
tubular shape finishing apparatus so as to be shaped of its diameter to a
predetermined value, and also shaped into complete round. The
electro-resistance-welded pipe finished by the tubular shape finishing
apparatus A is cut in a predetermine length and put side by side on a
run-out table H.
Next, explanation will be given on the apparatus in FIG. 2, in which the
forming welding unit FW, cooling unit L and tubular shape finishing
apparatus A in part.
Four sets of the forming welding unit FW are disposed around the four
surfaces of a rotary bed 33 rotatably supported to the manufacturing
system, the four sets disposing the forming roll stands 30 different in
diameter as, for example, 40, 30, 20 and 14 mm.
The forming welding unit FW are changeable, at one stroke, by rotating the
forming roll stands 30. A power transmitting unit can be detachably
mounted also at one stroke. The strip at the pass line 1 is supplied from
a coil guide 48 to the forming roll stand 30 and molded into tubular shape
while passing through a plurality of forming roll stands and sent to the
seam welding unit 2.
The seem welding unit 2 receives electric power from a high frequency
welding current source 47. The electro-resistance-welded pipe after welded
by the seam welding unit 2 passes through the bead cutter 31 to cut off
needless padding, and then taken out from the pull-out stand 32 to the
cooling unit L so as to be cooled thereby of its heat when welded and sent
to the tubular finish apparatus A.
FIG. 2 shows that two 3-roll forcible drive type stands driven by one
driving motor 51 are disposed to form the tubular shape finishing
apparatus A.
Next, explanation will be given on the structure of 3-roll forcible drive
type stand in FIG. 3, in which an input roll shaft 52 is driven by the
driving motor 51. On the input roll shaft 52 are provided bevel gears 56
and 57 engaged with each other through a key. An upper roll 53 is fixed
onto the outer periphery of the bevel gear 56, the bevel gear 56 engaging
with a bevel gear 58 at a left roll 54 fitted onto a left roll shaft 61.
The bevel gear 57 engages with a bevel gear 59 at a right roll 55 fitted
onto a right roll shaft 60, the upper roll 53, left roll 54 and right roll
55 being forcibly rotated in the same number of rotations.
Bearing support mechanisms for the upper roll 53, left roll 54 and right
roll 55 are constructed within the 3-roll stand frame 71. A gap of the
pass line 1 constructed with the three rolls 53, 54 and 55 is adjustable
from the exterior. When used as the tubular shape finishing apparatus A,
two sets of pass lines 1 each comprising three rolls are slightly
different from each other in the gap of the pass line, thereby finishing
the pipe in a specified form at two steps.
In the embodiment in FIG. 2, the two 3-roll forcible drive type stands are
disposed in series, but a shaping capacity thereof is high, whereby
contraction shaping can be satisfactorily performed even with one 3-roll
forcible drive type stand.
Next, explanation will be given on a 4-roll forcible drive hype stand shown
in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.
On a base 3 are disposed a tubular shape finishing apparatus A, an upper
shaft driving motor 6 and a lower shaft driving motor 5, the upper shaft
driving motor 6 being integral with a reduction gear mechanism 26, and the
lower shaft. driving motor 5 being integral with a reduction gear
mechanism 27. An upper transmitting shaft 28 projects from the reduction
gear mechanism 26 and a lower transmitting shaft 29 from that 27 so as to
drive an upper shaft 25 and lower shaft 46.
Four rolls are disposed in a roll stand frame 4 at the 4-roll forcible
drive type stand so that the pipe, while passing the 4-roll forcible drive
type stand is shaped in the predetermined pipe diameter or shaped to
obtain the circularity of the tube. Two adjusting screw bolts 34 and 35
project from the upper surface of the stand 4, two adjusting screw bolts
36 and 37 projecting from the side surface of the same. The upper shaft 25
projects from the upper porting at the side surface, the lower shaft 46
projecting from the lower portion of the same. The upper shaft 25 is
connected with other upper shaft 24 through a coupling 23, the lower shaft
46 connecting with other lower shaft through the same.
The two upper shaft are separate from the two lower shafts and slidable
connected therebetween, because the aforesaid adjusting screw bolts 34,
35, 36 and 37 are required to enable adjusting blocks a, b, c and d
divided into the rolls 11, 12, 13 and 14 to be movable laterally and
vertically in order to adjust the space formed with four rolls 11, 12, 13
and 14.
The adjusting screw bolt 34 is provided with wedge mechanism 44 and 45 for
leftwardly and rightwardly slidably adjusting the blocks a and b. The
adjusting screw bolt 35 is provided with wedge mechanism 40 and 41 for
leftwardly and rightwardly adjusting the blocks c and d. The adjusting
screw bolt 36 is provided with wedge mechanisms 42 and 43 for vertically
position-adjusting the adjusting blocks a and c. The adjusting screw bolt
37 is provided with wedge mechanisms 38 and 39 for vertically
position-adjusting the adjusting blocks b and d. The adjusting screw bolts
34 and 35 and those 36 and 37, which are related to each other through the
wedge mechanisms, should simultaneously be adjusted, the adjusting screw
bolts 34 and 35 and 36 and 37 being adjusted to enable the diameter of the
electro-resistance-welded pipe to be changed in diameter to a certain
extent.
A bevel gear 15 is fixed onto the upper shaft 25, and engages with a bevel
gear 9 on a roll shaft 10, and a roll 11 is fixed onto the outer periphery
of the bevel gear 9. A bevel gear 16 is fixed onto the outer periphery of
an upper shaft 24 and engages with a bevel gear 17 on a roll shaft 18, a
roll 13 is fixed to the outer periphery of the bevel gear 17. Similarly, a
bevel gear on the lower shaft 46 engages with a bevel gear 22 on a shaft
21, and a roll 12 is fixed to the outer periphery of the bevel gear 22. A
roll 14 is fixed onto the outer periphery of a bevel gear 19 on a roll
shaft 20, the four rolls 11, 12, 13 and 14 being forcibly rotatable in the
same number of rotations.
The upper shaft 25 and lower shaft 46 are disposed vertically in parallel
and the rolls 11, 12, 13 and 14 are freely fitted onto the roll shaft 10,
21, 20 and 18 in relation of being forcibly driven at an angle of
45.degree. with respect to the respective upper shaft 25 and lower shaft
46. In a space formed of the four rolls 11, 12, 13 and 14 is constructed a
molding space of the pass line 1 through which the
electro-resistance-welded pipe can pass. The rolls 11, 12, 13 and 14 each
are changed in shape so as to enable a cylindrical pipe 7 to be shaped and
an angular pipe 8 to be done.
The present invention, which is constructed as the above-mentioned, has the
following advantages: Conventionally, when the electro-resistance-welded
pipe is finished in a tubular shape after molded and welded, the stands at
the two upper and lower rolls and two left and right rolls are disposed in
six to eight sets in series so as to gradually mold the pipe. In this
case, however, the line of steel pipe manufacturing system is longer, and
when the pipe diameter is changed, a diameter of the stand at the tubular
shape finishing apparatus must be changed. Therefore, it takes much time
to exchange the rolls. On the contrary, the 3-roll forcible drive type
stand or the 4-roll forcible drive type stand, as in the present
invention, is used as the tubular shape finishing apparatus A, whereby one
to two sets of stands are enough and the line of the steel pipe
manufacturing system can be reduced in length.
Also, since the 3-roll forcible drive type stand or the 4-roll forcible
drive type stand is used in the tubular shape finishing apparatus A, the
electro-resistance-welded pipe is improved in the bite efficiency thereof
and can increase the speed of the shaping line. The tubular shape
finishing apparatus A increases in the speed thereof, whereby the steel
pipe manufacturing system can be improved in the entire efficiency.
Also, the invention has been described with reference to several different
embodiment, these embodiments are merely exemplary and not limiting of the
invention which is defined by the appended claims.
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